


Pumpkin Pie

by ellebeedarling



Series: The Adventures of Scott and Jaal [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Fluff, M/M, New Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 03:04:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16297013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellebeedarling/pseuds/ellebeedarling
Summary: Scott receives emails from Jaal's mother and decides to talk to him about it.





	Pumpkin Pie

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know. I was just geeking out about how cute Sahuna is, sending all those emails to Ryder when she finds out that he and Jaal are in a romantic relationship. This went down a path I wasn't expecting, but I think it turned out cute. 
> 
> Unbetaed, and honestly, I just wrote this in a few minutes and threw it up here. I just need to get back into writing! Hopefully it's not terrible! lol

“So.” Scott leaned against the side of the shuttle that Jaal was tinkering with. He hoped the angara wasn’t planning to take the damned thing apart. The tech lab was already overrun with projects and equipment in various stages of development or disassembly. Jaal, his… boyfriend? (That word didn’t sit well.) His… romantic friend, that’s how Jaal had addressed him in his last email. He grinned as his Romantic Friend glanced at him, curiosity burning in his galaxy eyes. 

Scott was lost. 

It wasn’t so long ago that this man was utterly alien to him, in every sense of the word, but now. Now Scott could read the emotions that shown in Jaal’s eyes like beacons - hope, fear, attachment, affection… curiosity. 

Scott wanted to kiss him. 

Instead, he cleared his throat and continued. “I got an email from your mother. Sahuna,” he clarified because Jaal had many mothers. (Even his culture was alien.) “She asked if I liked pie.” 

Jaal smiled at him. “And do you? Like pie?”

“Who doesn’t love pie?” Scott’s thoughts drifted away from him as they often did when he was near Jaal. It was weird - almost magical - how Jaal could offer such a steady calm by his mere presence alone. Almost like a balm to the torrent of activity that was constantly swirling in Scott’s brain, in his heart, since he’d become the Pathfinder. There was never enough time to just sit and think, but when those moments came, Scott gravitated toward the angara. With Jaal, Scott could just sit and be. He could think through the worries plaguing him, or he could listen to Jaal tell stories of the angara, of his life and his childhood. Sometimes, he could work on a project alongside the man, letting his troubles melt away as he concentrated on the work his hands were doing. 

Something about Jaal’s presence was therapeutic for Scott. He couldn’t explain it, and maybe that was why it worked so wonderfully well. There wasn’t any sense or logic to it. It just was. A simple fact - like sleeping or breathing. 

“What kind of pie is your favorite?” 

Scott blinked, a flush spreading up his cheeks as he looked up. Jaal was closer, amusement and genuine interest mingled in his expression. “Pumpkin,” he muttered, then took it further when Jaal cocked his head to the side. “Pumpkin is a vegetable… a squash. It’s used to make soups and breads… and pie. Particularly in autumn, when they’re harvested. The flesh is boiled down to a thick paste, and spices like cinnamon and cloves are added and sugar, cream, and eggs. It’s a sort of custard or pudding?”

Jaal’s brow furrowed. “Like nutrient paste?”

With a grimace, Scott shook his head. “No. Not really. It’s… I don’t know how to explain it. It’s something we always have in the fall. A human holiday, meant to express gratitude. Thanksgiving we called it. I… I feel like we should keep that tradition alive here in Andromeda. We still have a huge fight on our hands, but… we have a lot to be thankful for as well.” 

“It sounds like a lovely idea, Scott,” Jaal said, taking Scott’s hand within his own. 

“She also asked me about the human birthing process,” Scott blurted, remembering the second email and the list of items Sahuna had requested from him. 

Jaal laughed then. A long, loud, clear sound that made Scott happy and embarrassed all at once. 

“I mean,” he went on when the angara’s laughter had died down a bit, “she knows that we can’t… Right?”

“Can’t what?” Jaal asked, all false innocence. 

“Reproduce,” Scott said flatly. “Human males cannot reproduce without a female.” 

“Neither can angaran males,” Jaal said, still grinning a Cheshire grin. “Does this mean that we should rethink our relationship?” 

“What? No! I mean… Not… Is… is that what you want?”

“What I want, darling one,” Jaal said, sliding his hand against Scott’s whiskered cheek, “is you.” 

So simply, so matter-of-factly… so sincerely. Scott felt himself melting against the man. Eyes slipping closed, he leaned forward, anticipating that moment when their lips would meet. Jaal’s skin, so warm, so close, so sweet, so-

“Pathfinder,” SAM’s voice rang out in the ship’s hold, “you have a new email at your terminal.” 

“Okay,” Scott mumbled, lips still on trajectory to meet Jaal’s. “In a minute,” So close… they were so fucking close.

“Hey, Ryder,” Gil shouted from somewhere above them. Scott was going to murder him. “Can you come up here? Now! It’s, uh… it’s kinda urgent.” 

Like hell it is, Scott thought but didn’t say. Instead, he sighed, opening his eyes to see Jaal staring at him in amusement. “Later,” he told his Romantic Friend. “I want to revisit this moment later.” 

Jaal smiled at him, fingers ghosting across his cheek. “Whenever you’re ready.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Tumblr: [ellebeedarling](http://ellebeedarling.tumblr.com)
> 
> Much love,   
> Elle


End file.
